The invention relates to a new and improved construction of a signal emitting device with adjustable beat frequency comprising an input unit for the introduction of a sequence of time values of musical notes or pauses which define at least one measure, a memory unit for storing the introduced sequence and a circuit for repeatedly producing control signals representing the introduced sequence as a function of the selected beat frequency.
Such devices can be used as metronome. After the introduction of the selected sequence of time values of musical notes and pauses, which is easily possible also for a beginner, the corresponding rhythm is reproduced with the selected beat frequency. The beat frequency can initially be set low for training and can later be set at a higher value without changing the structure of the introduced musical measure.
Such known devices are a better help in learning a musical composition than the usual metronomes with acoustic or visual output because the while the person being trained is able to understand the rhythm of the difficult passages, the succession of the tones of a melody cannot be reproduced because the acoustic signals are uniform.
There are some cases in which it is desired to have, at least temporarily, in addition to the mere rhythm, the reproduction of the succession of tones of a musical composition, e.g. in singing lessons, since beginners are often not sure of the pitch of each tone.